Real Heroes
by beatdiggga
Summary: Usagi announces a desperate plan for peace with the senshi's hunters, while Dr. Mindbender's scheme begins to unfold. A G.I. Joe SM crossover
1. Prologue

**Prologue-**

_G.I. Joe is the codename for __America__'s daring highly trained Special __Mission_ force.  Its purpose, to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world.__

            His coffee was cold.

            Never mind that the war raged by Cobra Commander was going nowhere.  Despite having survived a coup by a genetically engineered phony, countless defeats at the hands of GI Joe, and the growing impatience of his financial backers, the thing that bothered him the most right this second was too simple.  He asked a Viper for hot coffee, and got cold coffee.  

            "This is the incompetence I have to deal with!" roared the Commander as he threw the mug against the wall, shocking the two red-shirted Crimson Guard members...  "Look at all of you!  No wonder we've been defeated by the Joes time and time again!"  

            "Calm down, Commander," replied the accented voice of the Baroness.  "You shouldn't let the little things bother you.  We have a meeting with our financial backers in fifteen minutes through web cam.  You should be composed."

            "Fine."  Substituting the cowl on his head for his more recognizable steel mask, Cobra Commander went into the conference room.  There were all the usual suspects,  Destro, his suspicious arms supplier, the twins, Tomax and Xamot, Dr. Mindbender, his science officer, and of course, the Baroness in their usual places.  All of them sat down and looked at the view screens.  Approaching his own seat, the Commander sat down.

            The screens cackled to life with the view of one man in a shadow, making it impossible to see his face.  "Commander," he began, "it has been nearly two months since your organization has attempted anything.  My partners and I are growing impatient.  Furthermore, we believe that you are focusing too much on America and GI Joe.  There are other valuable targets as well.

            Cobra Commander was livid.  "I am the only one who runs this organization!  Not you, not that phony Serpentor, me!  I'll conquer this planet when I'm damn good and ready!"

            "Commander, please!"  The voice was Destro's.  "We do need to attack a new target.  May someone make a suggestion?"

            "Yes, please, make a suggestion."

            Out of nowhere, Tomax began to speak.  "Why not Tokyo?"

            "Tokyo?"  Cobra Commander was suspicious.  "Why would we attack there?"

            "Because," responded Xamot, "Tokyo is home too much of the world's financial centers and factories.  Taking Tokyo would give us a huge psychological advantage, factories to produce B.A.T.'s, and control over much of the worlds finances and businesses.  We'd have weapons and finances far greater than before.  It's genius!"

            "Exactly why Serpentor didn't think of it!" responded the Commander. 

"A battle plan that doesn't involve a crazy scheme," replied Destro.  "But we need to strike quickly and sneakily enough that we have Tokyo before the Joes get there."

            Dr. Mindbender, the Cobra scientist, stood up as soon as he heard that.  "I've been working on a new variant aerial carrier.  It can fly above radar range, and has satellite jamming.  We'll be over Tokyo without anyone knowing.   Until we launch our attack that is…"

            The Baroness realized how simple this was going to be.  "All in favor?"

            "I!" resounded through the entire room.

            "All opposed?"

            The room stood silent.  The man in the camera spoke briefly.  "This will be interesting.  You have our full backing."

            "Yes!  Prepare the Vipers and B.A.T.'s!  It's time to show the world Cobra is here to stay!"


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

            The bells rang signaling the end of school.  A partly cloudy, totally average day.  The cars drove, the people walked, and the groups of students left the school in the middle of Tokyo, all in their uniforms.  Among those students was a klutzy blond named Usagi Tsukino.  With her were her best friend Ami and her friend/tormentor Rei.  They had just finished school, and were walking on the sidewalk.

            "Oh!" screamed Usagi.  "It's too windy today!"

            "This is how you tell we're in times of peace," responded Rei.  "After the end of those circus freaks, we can worry about the wind patterns."

            "She's right though," said a worried Ami.  "The winds are unusually high."

            "Let me guess, it's the Negaverse or something."

            "Well, no, but it is unusual."

            The winds began to pick up as the three girls headed over to a fast food place to meet up with their two friends, Makoto and Minako.  The two were waiting at a table with 5 seats, having ordered two burgers and sodas.  They didn't seem to notice the heavy winds outside.

            "Hi guys!" 

            "Oh, hi Usagi," responded Minako.  "How are you?"

            "A little freaked by the winds, but fine."

            "Oh?" interjected Rei.  "You mean that "F" on that math midterm didn't bother you?"

             Usagi was slightly embarrassed as Makoto and Minako suppressed laughs "Did you have to bring that up?

            "Yes."  Smiling, Rei began to sit down as people began screaming outside.  As they turned to see what caused the commotion, they noticed three large flying ships, with flat bottoms leading up to a tower at one end.  The tower was shaped like a cobra's head.  All five of the girls were bewildered.

            Makoto was the first to recover.  Looking up at the three ships dropping tanks and armed solders confused the normally calm brown haired girl. "What's that?"

            "I don't know!" screamed Usagi.  "You don't think it's…"

            "Let's go!" responded Ami.  Whipping out a small computer and a pair of glasses, she began to look at the craft and type, while the computer crunched data…

            From a seat on board the command bridge of one of the carriers, Cobra Commander began giving orders to his generals through view screens.  The reflections of the screens were easily visible in his shined mask, although the solders piloting the ship paid little attention, being too busy with their duties.

"Destro, are our paratroopers ready?"

            "Yes, commander.  Teams of Vipers and B.A.T. units are being dropped into the city.  The Dreadnoks are handling the Bubbles.  Rattlers and other Bubbles are coming in to support them.  Also, our ground tanks are being dropped in as well."

            Cobra Commander clutched the console in front of him.  "Excellent.  Phase 1 of Operation Asia Snake is go."

            "So Ami," asked Rei, "what is that thing?"

            "Whatever it is, it's jamming my computer."

            "Do you think it's the Negaverse?" asked Minako.

            "I'm not sure," replied Ami as she tried to get through the confused crowd.

            The confusion soon turned to panic as a loud voice boomed over the city, coming from one of the ships.  "People of Tokyo, we are Cobra!  We have come to take this city away from the government that is unworthy of controlling these islands.  Do NOT attempt to resist us.  We will not harm you if you surrender, but if you resist, so help us…"

            Tokyo's population went into a panic.  People began running as police were quickly being overwhelmed by Cobra's Viper troops and B.A.T. androids.  Three of the silver faced robots approached Usagi and her friends.  As they began approaching, Rei screamed.  "Run!"  The five girls ran as fast as they possibly could, notice the masses of troops and small hovercrafts rounding up the population and tanks rolling into the streets.

            "In here!"  Ducking into an open door, the five girls managed to escape their pursuers.  But they were soon greeted to a far more terrifying picture.  

            The Cobra forces have succeeded in incapacitating the police, and were in the process of rounding up the populace.  Panicked citizens ran, and a few were gunned down by Cobra gunmen.  Red-shirted Cobra solders were bullying families that refused to leave.  The solders laughed as tanks crushed cars and bicycles.

            "That's it!" shouted Makoto.  "No one wrecks my town and gets away with it!"

            "I say the Sailor Senshi teach them a lesson!" supported Usagi.

            "Are you crazy?" asked a worried Ami.  "They only outnumber us 500 to 1.  We don't know what we're up against!"

            "I'm the leader, and I say we fight.  They can't take over Tokyo without us getting in the way!"

            The others agreed, leaving Ami to go along with the crowd.  As they transformed into their senshi outfits and climbed to the top of the building, emotions varied from fear to rage.  But they all the same objective.  Stop Cobra from conquering Tokyo. 


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

            Driving around providing cover was boring.  Zartan didn't see anything to shoot at for the moment, and neither did his fellow Dreadnoks.  With the element of surprise and a ton of troops, Cobra would soon control Tokyo.  That made the appearance of five very oddly dressed schoolgirls on the top of a building all the more odd.

            "What in blue blazes in that?" asked Torch.  He was about to land his Bubble to start burning anyone who was resisting when he saw the girls.

            "I don't know, and quite frankly," responded Ripper, "I don't care!"

            "You should care!" screamed the now transformed Sailor Moon.  "We are…"

            Moon's speech was interrupted by a hail of gunfire from Zartan's Bubble.  "I don't give a damn who or what you little girls are!  If you're getting in our way, you're dead!"

            The five girls quickly scattered to different sides of the roof, but realized they were sitting ducks.  "Sailor Moon!" screamed an angry Mars.

            "What?"

            "What made you think going to the top of a roof and announcing your presence to a huge army was even remotely intelligent?!"

            "We always announce ourselves, and…"

            "Cut the chatter!" screamed Jupiter.  "We're gonna get shot up if we don't move, fast!  Scatter!"

            The senshi quickly split up.  Jupiter stayed on top of the building and began to attack the Bubbles with her Thunderclap attack.  Zartan was stunned as the electricity ball passed by him and destroyed a Bubble next to him.

            "How the hell did she do that?"

            "What do you mean five schoolgirls are resisting our troops?!"  Cobra Commander couldn't believe the news.  Five oddly dressed schoolgirls that supposedly had superpowers were trying to fight off the Cobra forces.  It sounded like something out of a bad cartoon.

            "Be that as it may, sir," responded the man on the other end of the radio, "they are severely outmatched.  They actually announced themselves to the Dreadnoks!"

            "Really?  That's pretty stupid.  Anyway, I want them captured.  I don't believe this superpower hogwash, but if they can put up a fight, they'll be a good study.

            "Yes sir!"

            "Cobra Commander," asked Destro, "Do you really believe five schoolgirls are a threat?  We should finish establishing our presence!"

            "They are resisting!  I'm not just going to sit back and let them kill my soldiers, now am I?"

            The senshi's resistance against Cobra didn't seem like to a good idea from the start to Rei, and as time passed, her opinion was reinforced.

            Heading into the street, Rei, also known as Sailor Mars, found herself in the middle of three HISS tanks, and the Dreadnok Thunder Machine.  

            "Gun em down!" screamed Thrasher, the Thunder Machine's pilot.  Surrounded, Mars tried to do the only thing she could.  She attacked.

            "Mars Celestial…"  Before she could finish, cannon fire from a HISS knocked her to the ground, barely missing her.  And when she tried to get back up, a Dreadnok armed with a chainsaw was right on top of her!"

            "You really think you can deal with me mate?" screamed the chainsaw armed man.  He gradually began to lower the chainsaw on Mars, who was struggling with all her might to keep it from pruning her face.  Of course, she wouldn't be in this situation if Usagi wasn't stupid enough to announce the senshi to Cobra, but that was beside the point.

            "Fire ignite!"  Screaming quickly, Mars pointed her hands at the man's face, with the fireball hitting him directly.  Under normal circumstances she would have used a stronger attack, but this wasn't the usual oddly dressed monster the senshi fought.

            "AHHH!  Me eyes!"  The man dropped the chainsaw and screamed in agony, giving Mars the time to escape.  The HISS tanks followed, but Mars managed to escape by hiding in a nearby building.  As she hid, she cursed Usagi for being so stupid.

            Sailor Jupiter's situation wasn't exactly better.  Attempting to hold off a group of Bubbles on top of a building was proving too difficult.  Things got much worse when Torch jumped onto the roof and started shooting his flamethrower.  Ducking to the side, Jupiter composed herself.

            "You shouldn't play with toys like that.  You can get hurt."

            "Believe me missy!  You shouldn't worry about what I'm playing with!"  In a fit, Torch began blasting Jupiter with his flamethrower, setting her clothes on fire, and causing her to nearly stumble off the roof!

            "AHHHH!  You won't beat me that easily!  Jupiter tackled Torch, and attempted to attack with her Thunderclap when she was hit from behind with the back of a rifle.  Holding the rifle was Zartan, who had landed his Bubble on the roof.

            "Cobra Commander wants her alive.  Besides, anyone who can shoot electricity out of her hands is worth interrogating.  I'll take her up to the ship.  Do what you were going to do."  Re-boarding his Bubble, with Sailor Jupiter on his shoulder, Zartan began to return to the carrier, while Torch headed into the streets.

            "I told you this was a bad idea Usagi!"

            "Would you rather they find us and we had done nothing, Ami?"

            "I don't think it matters!  Venus Love Chain encircle!"  The chain came out and went right through a few of the B.A.T.'s in front of the senshi, giving Usagi and Ami a few more seconds to argue before more troops could replace them.

            "You're a horrible leader!  What kind of idiot announces themselves to a huge army?"

            "I told you I was sorry!  Come on, we have to find Rei and Makoto!"

            "Tell it to the guys with the guns!"

            Both Usagi and Minako were surprised by the usually cool headed Ami suddenly going off on a rant, but then again, this wasn't a normal situation.  Running away, Ami summoned her Shabon spray in an attempt to cover their escape.  They managed to elude the B.A.T.'s with the aid of the mist, but after two blocks of running, they found themselves trapped between a squad of Vipers and two HISS tanks.

            "We're surrounded!" screamed Minako.

            "Maybe so," responded Ami, "but I'm sure there's a way out of this."

            "Where's Mamo-chan when you need him?" asked a scared Usagi.

            As they were put back to back, two identical looking Cobra soldiers were looking at the senshi.

            "Cobra Commander," began the first.

            "Wants them," continued the second.

            "Alive!" as they both finished the sentence in unison.  

            The three girls knew they only had two choices.  Fight, or be captured.  Raising her wand to attack, Usagi aimed it at the twins, only hoping her one stupid decision wouldn't be her last.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

It was now or never.  If she didn't take the shot, Cobra would drag her and her friends to some godforsaken laboratory in the middle of nowhere.  So with her wand aimed at one of the Cobra soldiers, Usagi did the only thing she could.  She shouted her attack, and let the energy beam hit the twin on the right.

"Tomax!" screamed the twin on the left.  The distraction was enough time to give Usagi, Ami, and Minako made a run for it.  Quickly going into an alleyway, they were quickly pursued by a squad of Cobra Vipers.

Ami looked at the force.  Judging by the size, it was only a 1/4th of the force that had initially encountered them.  Backed into a corner, the soldiers had absolutely no idea what was about to happen to them.

"You ready Venus?"

"Anytime, Sailor Moon.  What about you, Mercury?"

"Well, I suppose if we don't have a choice."

The Vipers raised their weapons to fire when the three senshi began to move preparing their attacks.  Before they knew what hit them, the vipers were blasted back in a sea of water and heart shaped chains.  Taking advantage of the situation, the senshi quickly ducked into an alley, and headed for the rooftop where they left Jupiter.

"You think Makoto is alright, Usagi?" asked a worried Ami.

"I don't know.  I hope so."

Victory was within Cobra Commanders grasp.  Zartan had dropped off the schoolgirl in the green skirt in the brig of his carrier.  His forces had finished setting up a perimeter.  In fact, he was ready to pop open the champagne bottle and toast his crew.

"Gentlemen," began the Commander, "congratulations on a superbly won victory.  Now let us…"

Cobra Commander was quickly interrupted by a panicked solider on the radar before he could even pour the first glass.  "We have incoming missiles!  There's no time for the radar jamming to be used!"

"What?!"  To his side, Destro and the rest of the crew watched as a barrage of missiles hit the carrier next to him, destroying it completely.  They watched as a combination of Japanese F-16's and Sky Strikers.  But only one armed force in the world used Sky Strikers.

"Oh, no.  No, no, no, no, no, no!"  The Commander began banging on a console, sobbing.   "Why is that every time I have victory in my hands, _they _come and steal it?"

It was painfully obvious to Destro that Cobra Commander was incapacitated for the time being.  That meant one thing.  He was in charge.

"Tell all forces to hold their ground!"

"But sir," responded one of the men on radar, "The enemy is a joint operations force.  The Japanese self-defense force is working in tandem with GI Joe!"

Makoto was gone.  And in her place were a bunch of small Cobra aircraft that wasted no time in taking potshots at the three senshi.  The roof was virtually empty, leaving them wide open to attack.  The Bubbles closed in to fire, but before they could, they were shot down.

"What was that?" asked Ami.

Looking on the ground, the three girls found their answer.  Tanks and artillery were rolling in, shooting it out with the Cobra forces.  The battle cry of the forces could be heard from the roof.

"**YO JOE!"  **

"Who are they?" asked a confused Usagi.  The Bubbles didn't even care about the senshi anymore; they were too busy fighting groups of this new forces aircraft, with the majority of them being rapidly shot down.  From their vantage point, the battle had completely shrugged them to the side as insignificant pests.

Usagi was simply speechless, standing still as the others girls went off to look for Rei and Makoto.  "I, I had no idea."

"Tomax!" screamed Xamot.  The twins were supposed to set up a perimeter in the Shinjuku shopping district after the senshi eluded them.  But they had just unloaded their artillery as a combination of Japanese troops and Joe land forces rolled in, forcing the Vipers into a standoff.  The majority of their artillery was destroyed in the initial assault.

"What is it, Xamot?"

"We cannot hold off the enemy here!"  Aloud, the panicked Xamot screamed "fall back!" to his forces, which were forced to retreat by Tokyo Tower, where the carriers were stationed.    

"Tomax…"

"And Xamot calling Cobra Commander!  Requesting reinforcements!"

The voice on the other end of the comlink was Destro.  "I'm afraid that the situation is far worse than we feared."

"Destro?  Where's the commander?"

"Preoccupied, I'm afraid."

"What are your orders?"

"Gather all forces by Tokyo Tower.  We will stage our counterattack there!"

The trooper squads had left.  And Rei was more than a little suspicious about that.  Peeking outside, she saw a group of soldiers standing guard over a pile of captured Cobra soldiers and destroyed androids.  But her appearance didn't go unnoticed by a man with an open cut blue shirt, hat, and gun.

"Who the heck is that?"

One of the Japanese soldiers found out what the man was talking about, looking directly at Mars.  "She's a criminal, Mr.…"

"Gung Ho.  Bet she's with Cobra.  Get her!"

Rei attempted to run, but was surrounded by a group of Japanese soldiers and their rifles pointed right at her.  With no choice in the matter, she gave herself up.

Meanwhile a convoy of Joe Havoc tanks and JSDF (Japanese Self-Defense Force) Main battle tanks were rolling towards Tokyo Tower, where the majority of the Cobra forces were emplaced.  Of peculiar interest were forces around the corners of the tower.  The Joe sergeant known as Duke saw this, and was seriously worried.

"Quick Kick!" he screamed to the gunner in the back.  "What is Cobra doing?"

"It's pretty far," responded an Asian man with a bandanna on his head, "but it looks like their setting explosives!"

"Typical Cobra strategy," responded Duke.  "If you can't take the city, destroy something symbolic about it."   Reaching for the radio on the tank, Duke began to address the convoy.  "Cobra forces are attempting to blow up Tokyo Tower.  We need to stop them now!  YO JOE!"

The response from the rest of the tanks, even the Japanese ones, was unanimous.  "YO JOE!"  

And the tanks raced off towards the tower, preparing themselves for the turning point in the battle.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

            "Gung-Ho to mobile command.  Mobile command, respond.  General Hawk, are you there?"

            "Read you loud and clear, Gung-Ho," responded a gruff sounding man.  "What's the situation?"

            "We've cleared out a neighborhood full of Vipers.  Captured a straggler."

            "Cobra?"

            "I think so.  According to our friends in the JSDF, she's a wanted…"

            "She?"

            "Yes, she.  She's a wanted criminal with suspected ties to Cobra.  I think she helped the snakes figure out where to land."

            "What's her uniform?  Viper, Crimson Guard…"

            "Actually, I've never seen this one.  Looks like a schoolgirl outfit."

            "You're kidding, right?"

            "Fraid not, sir.  JSDF has jurisdiction on domestic criminals, so they're going to escort her to Kyoto base for questioning.  The rest of the force is searching the city for pockets of Cobra resistance uptown.  Where's everyone else?"

            "Beach head's unit is searching downtown, while Duke, Alpine, Roadblock, and their units are heading toward the center of the city."

            "What about the Cobra chick?"

            "I'll arrange something.  If she's in league with Cobra, she's our problem as well."

            "Understood."  Turning back to the forces at hand, Gung-Ho began to organize the march of his soldiers.  "Okay, ladies, let's move out!"

            After some time bawling and ranting, Cobra Commander had finally regained his composure.  Turning to Destro, he asked for the status on the situation.

            "Commander, the Baroness's squad, Tomax and Xamot's squad, and the Dreadnoks are all pinned down right below us.   The plan is to destroy Tokyo Tower, then retreat.

          Less than pleased by the mention of retreat, the Commander banged his fist on the console in front of him.  "WHAT!?  Why retreat?  We are not going to lose this battle!"

            "Do you have a plan?"

            "That dolt Mindbender put weapons on these carriers, right?"

            "Yes sir.  Heavy battleship cannons, cruise missiles, and air-to-air missiles.  We have firepower slightly greater than a battleship on each vessel."

            "Then use it!  Draw out the Joes into the center of the city, and then we wipe them out!"

            "Usagi?" 

            "What is it Minako?"

            "Rei and Makoto are nowhere to be found.  And you know what?"

            "What?"           

            "It's YOUR FAULT!"

            Those words hit Usagi like a ton of bricks.  She didn't want to hear it.

            "That's not true!"

            Ami interrupted the two before an argument could erupt.  "Calm down!  The important thing to do right now is find the others, not argue!"

            Nodding in agreement, the three looked around the city, hoping to find their friends…

            Meanwhile, by Tokyo Tower, the battle had reached a standoff.   The tanks and infantry of GI Joe and the JSDF were heading right into Cobra Commander's carefully set plan!  The Commander was well aware of this, smiling at his own sense of tactical genius.

            "This is too simple!  The Joes will be wiped out at the foot of our advance!"

            "Don't be so sure, Commander!" responded Destro.  "Look!"

            Looking at the monitors in front of them, the crew of the carrier noticed the Joes and JSDF fighters had finished driving off the remainder of Cobra's aircraft, and were heading right for the carriers, easily outdistancing the ground convoys.  In response, all the remaining Cobra aircraft went out in a desperate bid to counterattack, but were quickly outnumbered by the Joe fighters and shot down.

            "Stand your ground!  No!  Stop blowing up, dammit!"

            "I don't think they can hear you commander.  We should sound retreat!"

            "No retreat!  Stand your…"

            The 'your' was interrupted by a series of shockwaves that forced several people out of their seats.  Looking on the monitors, it was clear that the carrier had been struck by the fighters, who were coming around for another pass. 

            With the air battle all but won, Duke's convoy pressed ahead into battle with the remaining ground forces.  The Dreadnoks Torch and Buzzer had finished setting up explosives around the corners of Tokyo Tower, and were quickly backing away.

            "So, Torch?  What's the deal?"

            "We're backing up on out of here once the tower goes!"

            The conversation was quickly interrupted by the approaching tanks firing barrages at the Cobra forces.  Torch and Buzzer scattered, as the remaining forces began a counterattack.  Sure enough, the engagement reached a standstill.

            "This is going nowhere!" screamed Duke.  "We can't just stay here!"

            "What do you think we should do?" asked Quick Kick.

            "Where's Snake-Eyes?  We'll cover him!"

            On cue, the ninja known as Snake Eyes, who was shooting at several Vipers, quickly moved forward towards the bombs.

            "Roadblock!  Alpine! Cover Snake-Eyes!" screamed Duke.

"Sure thing!" responded the bald solider known as Roadblock.  Firing off an M2 Browning rifle that a normal man would have trouble lifting, Roadblock managed to clear a space in the Cobra line that Snake-Eyes went through, heading right for the bombs.

  All of the allied forces there began firing on the Cobra troops, allowing Snake Eyes to take the bombs off the key points of the tower.  Throwing the bombs at the Viper front lines, Snake-eyes shot the bombs causing them to detonate.  The detonations caused huge explosions, forcing the remaining Cobra forces to retreat to the low flying carriers.  Many of the Cobra forces were forced to escape on C.L.A.W. gliders in an attempt to catch up with the carriers.  Finally, the carriers finally took off, leaving several dozen Vipers and B.A.T.S behind.

            "We won!" shouted a Japanese soldier. 

            "Cobra won't try to attack Tokyo ever again!" added another.

            Sighing at yet another battle fought against Cobra, Duke hoped the man's predictions were right.  The scene of all the forces, American Joes and JSDF shouting "Yo Joe!" did help to make the sergeant feel a little better.

            "Come on Duke!" called Alpine.  "Let's get back to base."

            "Good idea."

            Searching the city had been difficult enough with the Japanese army and the outside forces patrolling the streets for Cobra soldiers.  So when there was no sign of either Rei or Makoto, Usagi felt horrible.  Ami's attempts to console her friend did little to help.

            "I can't believe this happened.  It's my fault.  I'm supposed to be a leader.  And look at me!"

            "Usagi?"

            "What Minako?"

            "I'm sorry about before.  I didn't know what to do."

            "You were right."

            "No, I wasn't.  Come on, let's go home.  I'm sure we can plan our next step there."

            "I can't believe it.  Beaten again, and forced to leave in disgrace.  The only consolation was a very odd captive, a girl who could supposedly command the forces of electricity.  Walking up to her cell on board the carrier, Cobra Commander looked at the unconscious Sailor Jupiter with the twins escorting him.

            "Make sure our guest is comfortable when we reach the Terror-Drome.  I want Dr. Mindbender to study an intact prize."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

            The day hadn't exactly been a good one for Usagi and the Sailor Senshi.  They were nearly killed, two of the members were missing, and on top of it all, Usagi had to come home to a rather annoyed Luna and Chibi-Usa while Minako and Ami went to their own homes.

            "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" screamed the cat.  Usagi had never heard Luna scream so loud.  She was only glad that Minako and Ami weren't around to hear it.

            "You should have at least let me help you!  They evacuated us to the basement of the school when Cobra came."

            "I couldn't just let them take over the city!"

            "You're intentions were noble, but the consequences were dire.  The events that you have set in motion may prove catastrophic."

            "Why?"

            "Imagine that the government finds out who you are.  You're captured.  The world is left venerable to the attack of any negaverse villain, and the future as we know it could be affected."

            "I doubt it.  Let's watch TV."

            "Don't change the subject!"

            Usagi ignored Luna's protests and turned on the TV, hoping to get her mind of the events of the day.  Unfortunately, the TV was on the news, so that was impossible.  She knew it when she saw a press conference involving a high ranking Japanese general, and an American general.

            The Japanese general was the first to speak.  "If it were not for the heroics of General Hawk's GI Joe unit, we may not have been so fortunate in battle today.  The threat of Cobra is a major one, and so are those who aid them."

            Usagi knew what was coming next.  Sure enough, her fears were confirmed when they showed a picture of an imprisoned Rei-chan in her sailor uniform on the screen.

            "Criminals known as the Sailor Senshi have been a silent menace to this city.  Now that we have one of them in custody, we will work with the Americans and GI Joe to expose the full root of their crimes, and bring each and every one of them to justice.  Our investigation right now concerns…

            Luna looked at the TV as horrified as her cat face could while Usagi shut it off.  Chibi-Usa was just puzzled.

            "We need to meet with the others.  Something has to be done, soon.  The very future is in jeopardy."

            It felt like she had been hit over the head with a sledgehammer. 

            Waking in a dark cell with no recollection of what had happened; Minako was shocked to find herself in chains, with her hands covered by metal casings.  Looking around, the first thing she did was shout, "Where am I?" not expecting an answer.  To her surprise a voice did answer.

            "Your in the a prison cell on the Terror-drome in the center of Cobra Island."

            "Who said that?"

            A figure emerged from the shadows.  It was a man in a blue uniform wearing a cape and a metal mask over his face.  "I am Cobra Commander, ruler of this island."

           Makoto recognized the name Cobra Commander, and instantly connected it to the Cobra army that attacked Tokyo.  "You monster!  Why did you attack Tokyo?"

            "Because beuacracy is crippling the world!  Look at your country!"

            "That's no reason to kill people!"

            "Oh be quiet.  We're not here to discuss Cobra political views.  We're here to study.  Specifically, study you and the control you have over the forces of electricity."

            "Why would I tell you anything?"

            "You don't have to.  I'd like you to meet Dr. Mindbender."  Behind the Commander were a bald man with a cape and his abs showing.  He promptly introduced himself, and then spoke to the Commander.

            "I'm in the middle of a very important experiment.  What does she have that could be more important?"

            "Power over electricity!"

            "How do you know?  Eyewitness of whom?"

            "My soldiers!"

            "I'm not so sure.  I have an idea to test both of the subjects at once.  Combat."

            The Commander laughed at the doctor's suggestion, and then promptly agreed.

            Kyoto defense was the codename for the base that the Japanese government used to manage the country's national defense.  Currently it was being used as a joint base of operations between the JSDF and GI Joe.  With the news that Sailor Mars was being held inside the base, security was extra tight.

            Currently, the prisoner was in the interrogation room, receiving a rather heavy interrogation by the Joe known as Beach-Head.  With his trademark uniform and mask, Beach-Head was in the middle of his interrogation.

            "Talk!  What is your name, and what is your involvement with Cobra?"

            "Shouldn't I get a lawyer?" responded Rei.  This comment caused Beach-Head to nearly slap her, before his hand was caught by the Joe known as Scarlet.

            "Beach-Head?  What are you doing?"

            "Interrogating the witness, Scarlet.  So far she hasn't said a word."

            "Well, maybe if you didn't keep slapping her," replied Scarlet, pointing to the marks on Rei's face.

            "Duke put me in charge of interrogating the prisoners.  Not you.  What are you doing here anyway?"

            "Duke sent me to check on you and your progress."

            "Well you have, now leave!"

            "Look Beach-Head just let me interrogate this one prisoner.  Go deal with a Viper."      

            "I swear Scarlet, if I get in trouble for this…"  Beach-Head walked off muttering as Scarlet sat down in the interrogation room.

            Rei looked at the red haired woman with a sense of contempt and anger.  She hadn't done anything except help the city!  "What do you want?"

            "We need to ask you a few questions," replied Scarlett.  "Let's start with the simple stuff.  What's your name?"

            "Sailor Mars."

            Scarlett laughed softly when she heard that.  "That's your real name?"

            Rei responded smugly.  "Is Scarlet yours?"

            Once again, Scarlett was forced to suppress a laugh when she heard that.  "Okay, fine.  Your name is Sailor Mars.  Now for the next question."

            "Sure, what is it?"

            "You were spotted outside an area where Cobra had initially landed their troops.  What were you doing there?"

            Rei sighed, and then began to speak again.  "I was, well I was hiding."

            "Hiding?  From Cobra?  But your initial statement said your group was fighting Cobra."

            "Well, we were.  Our leader, if you can call her that…"

            "The one known as Sailor Moon?"

            "Yeah, her.  She wasn't about to let Cobra take over the city.  So the five of us decided to attack the Cobra troops.  But she gave us away."

            Scarlett sat back in her chair as she wrote down some notes.  The criminal mind wasn't her forte, that was Psyche-Out's.  But judging by her impression, and the fact that the lie detector didn't start beeping off the hook, she could only assume that the woman was telling the truth.

            "I think that's enough for now.  The guards will take you back to your cell."

            'Sailor Mars' looked on as Scarlett left the room.  She began to walk back to the command room that was assigned to the Joe team.  Inside was the Joe known as Flint, who was talking to someone on the phone.  He hung up as she walked up to him.  After a quick salute, Flint began questioning her.

            "I heard you took over for Beach-Head during an interrogation."

            "I didn't believe that Beach-Head was doing his job correctly, sir."

            "Who are you to decide that?"

            "I saw him hit the prisoner several times sir."

            "So did a Japanese MP who went into the room when Beach-Head was interrogating a Crimson Guardsmen.  He's being disciplined."

            Relieved that she wasn't going to be disciplined, Scarlett left the room, but not before Flint spoke again.   "Don't do that again.  Next time, tell an officer, or you'll be the one disciplined.  Understood?"

            "Yes sir."

            "So, Usagi let me see if I get this straight," began Usagi's boyfriend Mamuro.    Usagi had gone to her boyfriend's apartment to tell the tale, hoping to get sympathy.  She got nothing of the kind.

 "You thought it would be a good idea to take on an entire army with just you and the other 4 senshi.  And then you announced yourself to the army, and had to run.  Now two of the senshi are gone, one in government custody, and the other probably a prisoner of Cobra.  Is that right?

            "But Mamuro…"

            "I can't believe you.  I thought there was a brain underneath those meatballs.  I guess I was wrong.  You have managed to make an enemy out of an insanely powerful terrorist group and the American agency designed to fight it.  I, I don't even known what to say."

            "Mamo-chan, what would you have done?"

            Staring out the window, the man otherwise known as Tuxedo Kamen stared at the city.  He saw all the people outside, and relented to Usagi's drive.  "I would have done what you did.  Of course, considering I was on a stopped train, there was little I could do."

            Usagi stood up.  She seemed a like she had something on her mind, and then quickly announced it.  "I need to save Rei.  There's no getting around it.  I know the government has her on a military base, and she's being held captive.  But they didn't say which one."

            Mamuro went up to her girlfriend, and embraced her.  He knew she felt guilty over Rei's capture, but she couldn't just her noble intentions end in disaster again.  He had to help.

            "Leave everything to me.  Tuxedo Kamen will find out exactly what's going on."

            The lights shined as Makoto was thrown into a bizarre sand filled pit.  It was covered with a dome, and her restraints were removed, although she immediately noticed a steel clasp around her neck.  Above, she noticed the Commander and Dr. Mindbender in a heated argument, but she was unable to understand what they were arguing about.

            "Dr. Mindbender!  Are you sure a gladiatorial contest with your new creation, which might I add I haven't even seen yet, is a proper gauge of this woman's abilities?"

            "Commander, this woman, despite what powers Zartan claims she has, is inconsequential in the long run.  Sit down, and watch."

            "But why bring the entire staff here?  What do you have there?"

            "Commander, the winner of this contest will be the future of Cobra.  You must trust me."

            "Fine."  Sitting down next to Tomax and Xamot, Dr. Mindbender opened the doors with a remote control and turned on an intercom to hear what they were saying in the arena.

            "Woman, listen, and listen well," announced the evil doctor.  "You will engage in combat with the man behind that door.  If you refuse, the bomb attached to your neck will explode and you will die.  Understand?"

            Makoto was horrified when she heard this.  She had barely been conscious for less than half an hour before her captors decided to put her in a gladiatorial battle to the death.  Needles to say, she wasn't happy.

            "What do you think you're doing?"

            "Testing your so-called powers," responded Dr. Mindbender.  Open the gate!"

            Makoto looked at the gates opening, and then winced at the man behind them as he walked forward.  She had never seen them before, but the collective gasps of the crowd above her startled her.

            "Dr. Mindbender!" screamed an infuriated Cobra Commander.  He had pointed his gun at the doctor in his rage.  "What is the meaning of this?"


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-

            "I don't know what to say General Hawk.  I think she's telling the truth."

            "Is that your professional opinion, Psyche-Out?"  A conference between General Hawk and Colonel Hiruko Morrin of the JSDF over the fate of Sailor Mars was commencing.  As the leading psychologist on the Joe team, Psyche-Out's opinion was a key factor.

            "Yes it is sir.  I'm not sure what crimes she's responsible for, but I know we won't get anything out of her here."

            "General Hawk," interrupted Morrin.  "Not all of the Japanese public supports this arrest.  Many believe we have captured an innocent person.  Some believe that woman and the rest of the Sailor Senshi to be heroes.  Public outcry will only increase until we can get some hard factual evidence against her."

            "Heroes?  What are you talking about?  Why haven't you mentioned this before?"

            "It's rumor, General.  Pure rumor.  There's no evidence to support the claims of the people who admitted to anything.  Most refuse to give comment."

            "What do you suggest we do with her then?"

            Sighing, the colonel composed himself before he stood up and began to speak.  "I want custody transferred to America."

            Hawk simply looked at Morrin with a blank expression before he realized what the colonel wanted.  "You want us to take her off your hands?"

            "Your unit has a secret facility where you can question her, right?"

            "We're not the Gestapo, colonel.  Interrogation of prisoners isn't our specialty.  Why don't you talk to an intelligence division?"

            "Sir, I'm familiar with a base under the command of a Sergeant Slaughter that is under international jurisdiction.   You could transfer her there, and we could 'write her off' as you say."

            "You want me to send Mars to the Slaughterhouse?  That place is for failed recruits, not prisoners.

            "Please, General.  The location is classified to all but the highest ranking members of the Joe team, and the facilities are amply secured.  There's no way that Sailor Mars could escape."

            General Hawk looked at the colonel, then at Psyche-Out.  Sergeant Slaughter wasn't exactly a warden.  But considering that the woman's makeshift prison inside a public base was a relatively easy target, it made sense to transfer her to an undisclosed location.  "Very well, Colonel.  I'll contact Sergeant Slaughter and see if I can make arrangements."

            "Please understand that this is for the good of Japan.  If she's interrogated at the Slaughterhouse, it will seem like the entire world united against these criminals."

            The three men left the room in a rather discreet manner.  Both officers were taking a long route accompanied by guards and the like.  Psyche-Out shrugged.  The walk from the conference room to the barracks where the Joes were stationed was a significant hike.  He didn't like walking.

            About halfway to the barracks, something happened that he didn't expect.  He was dragged into an alley by an unseen figure, and has his mouth covered.  

            "Now listen very carefully," began the man.  He didn't have a Cobra uniform on, instead, he had a tuxedo, a cape, and an old mask that looked like something Robin would wear.  He also had a small cane pointed right at Psyche-Out.  The fact that he wielded it like a blade worried Psyche-Out.  Finally, the man began to speak.

            "I'm going to let you talk, and you're going to tell me everything I want to know.  Nod if you agree."

            Psyche-Out nodded, unable to grab the pistol he kept with him on duty.  He was at this man's mercy…"

            The tension in the arena could be cut with a knife.  Makoto didn't know what to make of it.  Looking up, she found Cobra Commander pointing a gun at Dr. Mindbender.  And she didn't know why.  All she knew was that a man in a green snake getup with a sword and a gun was right in front of her.

            "Answer me Mindbender!  Can't you realize that I am the true leader of Cobra?"

            "But Commander, it's not what you think!"

            "You have ten seconds to explain yourself.  Why of all people, is Serpentor down there?!"

           Zartan still stared in disbelief.  He had killed Serpentor personally.  He saw the arrow go right through his neck.  Hell, he fired the arrow that had gone right through his neck.  The other Dreadnoks were worried about their leader.

            "Uh, boss?  You OK?" asked Torch.

            "Look like you've seen a ghost," added Monkeywrench.  Zartan said nothing, but sat down in disbelief.  All the while, Dr. Mindbender was stammering.

            "C, comm, commander!  That's not the real Serpentor."

            "Well of course not, the real Serpentor's dead!  My question is why someone who looks just like him is right there!"

            "It's a difficult story.  I'll explain once you put the gun down, if you could, well, find it in your great wisdom to spare my life."

            Shrugging, the commander lowered his weapon as Dr. Mindbender began to speak.

            "The original Serpentor was a great soldier.  However, as a leader, there might have been a problem.

            "You can say that again, Mindbender.  Cobra has no need for two leaders.  Serpentor's own arrogance started the war with him and that impostor Fred VII."

            "So, anyway, I went to work with the genetic material again, and tried to create a new type of Serpentor.  Instead of attempting to create the perfect leader, I attempted to create the perfect solider.  One who would be submissive to you completely.  His costume is reminiscent of that, which is why he lacks the two snakes around his neck.  Try ordering him around."

            Looking at the green wearing Serpentor, the Commander concluded that no harm could come from a quick order.  Pressing a button on his remote, the clear dome surrounding the ring retracted, allowing the Commander to be heard.  "Serpentor!  Can you hear me?"

            The man was almost instantaneous in his response.  "I hear and obey, Cobra Commander!"

            "See?" added Mindbender.  "He is totally obedient to you.  I swear it!"

            "Let's find out.  Serpentor, kill Dr. Mindbender!"  The doctor's blood drained from his face as Serpentor bowed.

            "By your command!"  Serpentor aimed his gun at Dr. Mindbender, causing him to shriek in terror.  If given another quarter second, he would have fired.  But to Dr. Mindbender's relief, Cobra Commander raised his hand and spoke again.

            "No, on second thought, don't kill him.  Instead, kill the girl in the room.  But do not use your gun. Understand?"

            "By your command!" responded Serpentor in the same monotone voice.  Raising his sword, Serpentor charged at Makoto, who quickly dodged to the side.

            Watching from above, the Commander viewed the fight with extreme interest.  "So, Dr. Mindbender, what can one Serpentor do?"

            "Little, Cobra Commander, outside of being an elite agent for the organization.  But if mass cloned, they would replace the B.A.T.S. and be 100 times more useful."  
            "We'll see, Dr. Mindbender."  With the truth at their side, the crowd of Cobra leaders sat down and resumed watching the fight.

            Usagi knew what she had to do.  Her boyfriend had given her the information on where to do it.  Rei was being held in the Kyoto military base.  But it got worse.  In three days, they were going to transfer her to a top-secret location somewhere in America.  They had to strike soon.  But three senshi against the combined firepower of the JSDF AND G.I. Joe seemed next to impossible.  The walk home from school only allowed her to accentuate this in her mind.

            When she came home, she found Minako, Ami, Chibi-Usa, Luna, and Artemis, but she also found three people she didn't expect.

            "Haruka?  Michiru?  Setsuna?  What are you doing here?"  
            "Covering your ass," responded Haruka harshly.  "We can't let any government agency use the power of the Moon Kingdom for their own ends.  And YOU don't have the firepower to stand up to G.I. Joe."

            "But you do," sarcastically responded Usagi.

            "You know Usagi," responded Chibi-Usa, "you need to realize we're a team!  None of us can take down the Joe base by themselves.  Besides, didn't Mamuro tell you where G.I. Joe is holding Rei?"

            "Small lady is correct," added Sestuna, the Sailor known as Pluto, the keeper of the gate of time.  "We all need to put aside petty differences for the whole.  So, do you know where they're keeping the others?

            "Just Rei.  We need to act soon though.  They're shipping her off to some top-secret base in America."

            "Do you know when?" asked Michuru.

            "Three days."

            "We strike in two then," responded Harkua.  "If G.I. Joe would make us there enemies, then we show them exactly what they're up against!"  Continuing, Harkua outlined the entire plan.

            "We will attack with all our power at once, creating distortion in the base.  The confusion will allow one of us to sneak in and rescue Rei."

            Usagi quickly stood up.  "I'll do it."

            "Oh, no you won't," responded Minako.  "You caused this crap in the first place, and you're not going to make it worse!"

            "I won't make it worse!  Everyone thinks I'm just some klutz who needs her friends to save her butt every time something goes wrong!  Well, it's not true!  I'll show you all!  I'll save Rei by myself!"

            Everyone in the room was taken aback by Usagi's sudden outburst.  Everyone was silent until Ami finally began to speak.

            "Look Usagi, doing this by yourself is suicide.  Becoming a hate-filled murder machine is only going to get you killed."

            Sighing, Usagi relented to Ami's logic.  She always had a way of making her able to see the big picture.

            "So," asked Usagi, sighing, "what's the plan?"

            Guard duty sucked.  As a Joe, Gung-Ho was there for the heat of battle.  He didn't usually pull guard duty, but with the Joe force interrogating prisoners and doing other stuff, he was stuck.  Lucky for him, Law was going to take his place in an hour.  He and the dog were more into guard duty anyway.  But that was before he heard the banging.

            Clutching his M-29, Gung Ho peeked into where the noise was coming from.  A garbage bin was rattling.  Opening it, Gung Ho found something he didn't expect.

            "Psyche-Out?!  What the hell happened?  Why is your mouth taped up?"  Quickly removing the tape, Psyche-Out began to speak.

            "Some nut job in a tuxedo pulled me into a corner, held a weapon towards me, and asked about the girl."

            "The Cobra chick?"

            "Yeah, her.  He knows that we're transferring her off this base.  Then he gagged me, tied me up, and knocked me out.  When I woke up, I was here.  I've been banging here for about a day!"

            "Well, no one patrols the dumps."  Helping Psyche-Out from his restraints, Gung-Ho went inside.  General Hawk needed to know that Cobra might know where their prisoner is.


	8. Chapter 7

Before we start, I'd like to add some quick notes.  G.I. Joe fans that are reading this fic, (come on guys, I know you're out there) will probably recognize that I'm blending the comic continuity with the TV show continuity.  All this basically means is that the G.I Joe movie never happened.  And Scarlett is with Snake-Eyes.  I thought the idea of Cobra-La was pretty stupid anyway, but that's just me.

Oh well, enjoy!  And don't forget to review!

**Chapter 7-**

            Ducking and jumping were little help to Makoto.  She knew that the only way out of this fight was to finish her opponent.  But that would mean revealing to the Cobra guys that she had powers.  But if she didn't, she's end up skewered by this guy's sword.

            Serpentor had moved without tiring the whole fight.  All Makoto had been able to do was punch him a few times, and kick him in the face.  He simply absorbed the punishment and kept on coming.  It was as if the sole purpose in his existence was to kill Makoto.

            "That's it!  Kill Sailor Jupiter!" screamed Cobra Commander before he turned to Dr. Mindbender.  "Uh, Sailor Jupiter is her name, right?"

            "Yes, Commander."  Sighing, Dr. Mindbender looked at the fight between his creation and Jupiter.  It was clearly obvious that Serpentor was wearing her down, and soon the fight would be over.  Then Serpentor clones would be able to do what his B.A.T. robots couldn't.  Form an invincible army.

            Oblivious to the events above, Makoto decided that enough was enough.  She wasn't going to die here, and she definitely wasn't going to die at the hands of some wacko in a snake getup!

            "Sparkling…"  Before she could finish, she was knocked down by Serpentor, who raised his blade over her.

            "Farewell worm!"  

            _About time the plane got here, thought Duke.  He had been waiting for Sergeant Slaughter's plane with a group of Japanese officers who wanted to discuss transfer of the Cobra prisoner.  Many of them had heard of Slaughter's heroics in battle, and wanted to meet him personally.  Not surprising, considering that the Joes were practically treated like celebrities here.  So when the plane landed, and Slaughter came out in his distinctive tank top with his sergeant's hat and whistle, accompanied by a group of soldiers, he was relieved._

            The Japanese officers surrounded Slaughter, who politely told them that he needed to speak to Duke but would talk to them later.  Moving to the side, Duke began to fill Slaughter in on the details.

            "I don't like it.  Keeping a Cobra prisoner, a chick, around the recruits?  I've got to educate them somehow."

            "It's only for a little while.  We'd arrange it so that the girl would be isolated from the rest of the camp.  We'd have her questioned, interrogated, then shipped off for sentence."

            "I've heard some funky stories about this babe.  What's the rumor that she can control fire?"

            "She's considered an expert with flame devices.  What did you think, it was magic or something?"

            "Course not.  But is she restrained?"

            "Fireproof straightjacket.  She's stuck."

            "Well okay then.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a crowd to meet."  Walking off, Sergeant Slaughter started to mingle with the crowds from before as Duke headed back inside.

            _I don't want to die here._

_            I thought I was supposed to be a warrior, a princess of something.  Not some tool of entertainment for a would-be-dictator and his lackeys.  But I never understood the higher calling.  I just knew I was put on this earth to help people._

_            And now I'm going to die.  At the business end of this guy's sword.  Life's a bitch sometimes.  Especially when it ends._

_            Maybe I don't have to die.  It's a one shot, but if it works, I'll have won.  I know I'll be taking a risk, but I just hope Cobra can't figure out where my powers come from._

"Supreme Thunder!"

            A flash of lightning focused on a rod that appeared in Sailor Jupiter's tiara.  The light blinded everyone in the room, Serpentor, the guards, and the Cobra officers.  Only Makoto saw the lighting bounce off the tiara and fry Serpentor.

            "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" was all that could be heard from Serpentor as he fell to the floor, burned in agony.  But the worst part was that he got up and still attacked Makoto.  Sighing, she readied another attack.  Serpentor got closer, readying his sword for the kill.

"Sparking Pressure release!"  The concentrated blast hit Serpentor dead center seconds before he could plunge the blade into Makoto's body.  The impact knocked him to the ground, burning him again.  He attempted to get up, but was unable to move his head.  Soon after, he collapsed completely.

            Dr. Mindbender was stunned.  How did she do that?  Was it even possible?  As he pondered that, Cobra Commander stood up and clapped.

            "Bravo!  Your power is truly great.  Tell me, can you hear me?"

            Makoto said nothing, but responded with a Supreme Thunder attack towards the dome.  The attack simply bounced off as Cobra Commander began laughing.

            "Don't bother.  The dome is a non-conductor.  Electric attacks won't do anything."  Ordering a Viper to fire, Jupiter collapsed from a tranquilizer dart as two other Vipers carried her away.

            "Well now Commander," asked Destro, "you have proven that this woman indeed commands electricity.  Now what?"  

            "Simple!  Dr. Mindbender will experiment on her, and we will capture the rest of the Sailor Senshi and acquire their abilities for the good of Cobra!"  Once again, he was forced to turn to Dr. Mindbender.  "It's senshi, right?"

            "Some foreigners call them scouts, but that's died off in the past few years.  They're generally referred to as the senshi."

            "Right.  You sure?

            "I'm sure."

            "Good.  Anyway, our next target should be the senshi that the Joes have in their custody.  Zartan, how's your sister doing?"

            "You expect me to know now?  We've been out of contact for three days."

            "Well, get her on line!"

             After a short while, Zartan reported back in with the information he had acquired from his sister Zarana.

            "Posing as a secretary for a Japanese officer, Zarana has found that the prisoner named Sailor Mars is being held at Kyoto base.  However, in two days, she will be taken off base to a top secret Joe facility.  We don't know where it is.  And tracking it will prove incredibly difficult.

            "So now we attack."

            "There's a contingency of Cobra forces under the command of Major Bludd left behind after the failed Tokyo assault.  Sending extra forces should be a relatively simple process," announced Destro.

            "Good!  Destro, take command of the forces with Bludd and myself.  Understand?"

            "Very well, Commander."

             It had been nearly a week since she had been captured.  Rei couldn't say she had been abused, but being put in a straightjacket and accused of being a member of an international terrorist group would make anybody cranky.  But she was alone, and after her initial interrogation, isolated from the rest of the base.  That's why when the door opened, and a man with the biggest muscles she had ever seen intrigued her.  The man began to speak to another man nearby.

            "So this is the prisoner?" 

            "Yup."

            Walking up to Rei, the man tipped his hat sarcastically, and then began to speak.

            "Guess what little girl?  You're going on a nice long vacation with me to the Slaughterhouse.  Understand?"

            "Slaughterhouse?!"  Rei didn't know what the man was talking about!"

            "The Slaughterhouse.  A base somewhere where you don't know, and where Cobra can't save you.  You're going to be interrogated their, and then released for your trial."

            "But I didn't do anything!  I was FIGHTING Cobra!"  
            "We'll find out soon enough, considering your plane leaves tonight.  Cobra scum like you always sickens me."

            "Sergeant," interrupted the other man, "that's enough."

            "Oh, come on Flint, you know she's lying."

            "Scarlett and Psyche-Out aren't.  That's why we want her transferred."

            "Okay then."  Walking off, the two men left the cell and Rei was left alone.  No friends and no one who believed her.

           Looking at the base, Usagi was worried.  She had every reason to be.  Guards were everywhere.  No one knew how much firepower the Joes had.  Even if they all overwhelmed the guards in one stroke, she wasn't sure what to expect on the inside.  Her daydreaming however was quickly interrupted by Haruka's berating.

           "Hey!  Wimp!  Pay attention!"

           "What?  Sorry."

           "You'll be sorry if this doesn't work," added Michiru.  "We have to attack at once.  That means you can't be daydreaming on the job.  Not if you want to rescue Mars.  Understand?"

           "I can take care of myself, you know.  I'll show the Joes what happens when you mess with the Sailor Senshi."

           The march from the drop off point had continued for about an hour.  Soon, they would be upon their target.  Cobra Commander could feel the anticipation.  Once all the Sailor Senshi were captured, he would be able to equip his entire army with these fantastic powers.  There would be no limit to what he could accomplish.  He could imagine it.  Drawing on the powers of all the senshi, he would first destroy G.I Joe.  Then take over the U.S.  Then the entire world!  He could practically feel Duke's body in his hand until Destro spoke up.

          "Commander, we're almost there!"

         "What, already?"  Struggling to get out of his daydream, the Commander had his sights on the base.

         "We strike in five minutes.  Prepare the mortars and artillery.  Understand?"

         "Yes sir!"


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8-

            "Okay, is everyone ready?" asked Usagi.

            "Sailor Venus is ready to kick some butt!"

            "Sailor Mercury will cover you."

            "Sailor Chibi-Moon is gonna do some damage!"

            "Just remember, I don't take orders from you!"

            "Come on Haruka, she apologized already."

            "Enough!  We attack all at once!"

            "Okay, Setsuna."

            The girls all readied their attacks for one barrage.  They expected it to strike simultaneously, and then have Usagi move in to rescue Rei.  When Rei was freed, they would retreat.  Simple and effective.

            "World Shaking!"

            "Venus Love Chain!"

            "Deep Submerge!"

            "Aqua Illusion!"

            "Pink Sugar-Heart attack!"

            "Dead Scream!"

            Watching at the energies from the attacks struck their targets; Usagi knew it was now or never.

            "Spiral heart attack!"

            _Huh?  What is this place?  _

            Duke had found himself in the middle of Tokyo.  But something seemed, off.  For one thing, he didn't remember so much, well so much glass.

            Looking around, he found the people staring at him as they walked along.  That didn't exactly concern him, but what he saw as he walked down the street did.  

            It was a statue of two people.  A woman with long hair with two big balls on her head, and a man in a mask.  A man he recognized instantly.

            "Cobra Commander."  Getting closer to the statue, he found an inscription.  One that horrified him.

            __

**_                                                  For Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion.  The saviors of Earth._**

            "That's a lie!" screamed Duke aloud.  "This is a lie!  Cobra Commander isn't a savior, he's a murderer!"  

            Duke's screaming alarmed many of the people who before had simply ignored him.  Two people approached Duke as he grabbed his sidearm, waving it into the air.

            "Stay back!  I've got to find the palace!"

            "Uh, the palace?" asked one man.

            "Yeah, I need to find the palace."

            "Uh, the palace is in the center of the city.  What's the rush?  Hey, mister!"

            Taking off, Duke cocked his gun.  The palace was where Cobra Commander was hiding.  If Cobra Commander was the ruler of this city, and the Earth, that could only mean one thing.

            All of G.I Joe was either dead or captured, and the United States itself had ceased to exist.

            He couldn't believe what was around him.  People were walking around without a care.  He didn't see Vipers or Crimson Guardsmen or B.A.T. robots anywhere.  This didn't relieve Duke; instead, it only frightened him more.

            Finally, Duke had made it to the center of the city.  He saw the woman with the balls on her head and the masked Cobra Commander walking out of the palace with a little girl.  _Cobra Commander has a daughter?  _

The sight of Cobra Commander walking to a carriage sickened him.  He wasn't wearing his Cobra uniform, but rather a tuxedo and a smaller mask.  All that you couldn't see were his eyes.  His face looked like he had plastic surgery or something.  But he knew it was Cobra Commander.  He also knew that wherever he was, Cobra had won.  All those people he worked with, cared about.  Snake-Eyes, Roadblock, General Hawk, Stalker, Flint, Lady Jaye, Grunt.  Scarlett.  All dead.  For Cobra Commander's sick perversion of a utopia where people shut up and never question the government.  

            He knew he would only get one shot at this.  One shot at avenging his fallen comrades.

            "**YO JOE!"**

            The scream surprised everyone who was congregating by the palace, especially the Commander, his wife and daughter.  Duke raised his pistol and fired two shots.  

            "This is for the U.S.A.!"

            Duke didn't see Cobra Commander's wife jump in front of him.  She took both bullets for him in the chest.  The next thing he saw was Cobra Commander's wife lying on the ground, with the Commander himself holding her.  Duke felt no remorse.

            "You're next Cobra Commander!"  

            Before he could fire the next shot, he felt a shock of electricity and fell to the floor.  Looking up, he found five girls in short skirts looking over him.  One looked like the prisoner Gung-Ho had captured!

            "What's going on?"

            Cobra Commander rose and began to speak.  But his voice was not his usual raspy self; rather it was controlled and calm.  "What have you done to my wife?"

            Duke attempted to stand up, but found it incredibly difficult to do so.  Somehow, he managed to stand, pointing his gun at Cobra Commander.  "The same thing you did to G.I. Joe!  The same thing you did to the United States of America!"

            "Why are you talking about a dead country?"

            "It's only dead because of you!"

            "Be gone from here, worm of society.  I don't know what you are talking about!"

            Duke rose to fire another shot, but before he could, fire enveloped him.  He burned and screamed in agony.

            _Damn you Cobra Commander!_

"Duke, wake up!  Wake up, you idiot!"

            "Huh?"  Turning to his side, Duke found Scarlett and Snake-Eyes pushing at him.  Scarlett seemed worried, and Snake-Eyes was wearing his combat uniform.  "What's going on?"

            "We're under attack!  General Hawk wants you in the command room ASAP!"

            "Cobra?"

            "We're guessing.  Come on!"

            "They're here for the girl!  I can tell!  She's Cobra!"  Grabbing his uniform, Duke ran towards the war room.

            "Pour it on!" screamed Haruka.  The power of all the senshi's attacks had destroyed a good portion of the base's wall, and had sent the soldiers into disarray.  Usagi simply stared at all the soldiers running around.  She had no idea what she was up against.

            "Hey Usagi!" screamed Minako.  "Now's your chance!  Go inside!  We'll advance on the base!"

            "You won't let Rei down again, right?" added Chibi-Usa.

            "Right!"  Running as fast as she could, Usagi dodged stray bullet fire as the other girls rushed forward attacking.

            Duke, Scarlett, and Snake-Eyes ran into the war room, where General Hawk, Flint, Sergeant Slaughter, and Colonel Morrin of the JSDF were viewing monitors and directing the battle plan.  Things didn't look good.

"General Hawk, what's the situation?"

            "We're being attacked by an enemy wielding tremendous force!" responded Hawk.

            "The enemy is attacking from the side, "added Morrin.  "It's the Sailor Senshi.  They've come back for their missing comrade."

            "Cobra scumbags," added Slaughter.  "What's the plan General Hawk?"

            "We need to get Sailor Mars off-base ASAP.  Duke, rally the ground forces with the JSDF.  Slaughter, you and Snake-Eyes get Mars onto a chopper, and fly to port where the _Flagg_ is stationed.  I'll send orders to the _Flagg to prepare for departure.  _

            "Yes sir," responded Slaughter.  He and Snake-Eyes ran for the room where Sailor Mars while Duke and Scarlett headed for the armory.

            "General," asked Morrin, "the enemy had inconceivable firepower at their disposal.  Are your men up to the task of stopping them?"

            "G.I. Joe is always up to the task, Colonel."

            "What are those flashing lights?" asked Destro.

            "It appears that another group has attempted to attack the base!" responded a Viper.  

            "Who is it?"

            Looking through his binoculars, the Viper found the Senshi advancing on the Joes, who were mobilizing their entire force against them.  "The Sailor Senshi!  I think that's all of them!"

           Cobra Commander laughed when he heard this.  "Tell all forces to wait."

           "Wait?" asked Destro.  "Wait for what?"

            "Wait for the both sides to weaken.  Then, we strike!  We'll wipe out the Joes and capture all of the senshi in one fell swoop! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

            Laughing manically, Cobra Commander stood back and watched the senshi advance on the Kyoto base.  Soon, Cobra would enter the conflict, the senshi would be captured, and G.I. Joe would be wiped out!


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9-

            In little time at all, Duke and Scarlett had reached the armory, each taking out a different vehicle.  Duke manned a tank, and Scarlett got inside a small Striker ATV.  Flooring the accelerators, both of them went outside into the heat of battle.

            "Yo Joe!"  Firing off his tank at the enemy barrage, Duke looked forward at the enemy numbers.  Six women.  All wearing a derivative of the same outfit that Mars was wearing upon her capture.

            "Keep firing!" screamed Duke.  "Do NOT let the enemy enter the base!"

            "There's too much cover fire!" screamed Minako.  "We'll be wiped out in seconds!"

            "Don't worry!" responded Ami.  "Shabon Spray!"  Raising her hands into the air, Ami used her powers to create a fog around the entire base, hoping to confuse the Joe team members.  With the fog now providing the senshi with an advantage, the senshi continued attacking forward, hoping to hold off the Joe team members.

           Roadblock had just finished his shift on guard duty when he first saw the light.  Beams of light that looked like planets, chains, and even a gigantic heart appeared and destroyed the fence and guard posts.  Wasting no time, Roadblock grabbed his M2 and started firing.  

            Then the fog came, blinding Roadblock from his objective.  Screaming out for assistance, the only person he could find was Law and his dog, Order.

            "Law!  What's going on?"

            "Dunno, Roadblock.  Order started acting crazy, then the explosions came, then those girls started attacking, and now we're here!"  

            "Where are the little skanks?"  Before Roadblock could receive and answer, a chain appeared from the midst of the fog and struck him in the shoulder.

            "AH!"

            "Roadblock!  What happened?"  
            "Over there!  Pointing to where the chain had come from, Law fired half of his Uzi clip ahead of him before he heard a female yelp.  Turning back to Roadblock, Law began to examine his shoulder before Roadblock stood back up.

            "Just a scratch.  Let's just find those Cobra skanks and kick some butt!"

            "Right!"  Law sent his dog Order ahead to sniff out the senshi.  That way, he and Roadblock knew where to fire at.  

            "Venus!  Are you alright?"

            "Just fine, Pluto.  I think I took one to the leg."  Struggling to get up, Mercury helped Venus up as she continued to fire off her Crescent Beam attack at the nearby soldiers.  Even at this point, she was aiming for the legs, attempting not to kill them, but rather incapacitate them.

            "If this keeps up, we're all as good as dead!" shouted Uranus.

            "No!" screamed Chibi-Moon as she continued firing at Joe soldiers.  "We need to give Usagi a little more time!"

            "Small lady is correct," responded Pluto.  "We must continue fighting.  Retreat to the forests.  We'll continue our barrage there."

            Nodding in agreement, the other senshi ran to the forests while firing on the Joe forces.  Seeing this on the thermal scope, Duke wasn't hesitant to follow.

            "The enemy is retreating!  Pursue them into the forest!"

            Moving through the base with all the soldiers outside was easy enough for Usagi.  She had managed to avoid detection while looking for Rei.  But she still wasn't clear on where she was until she heard a man speak. 

            "Come on Snake-Eyes, we need to haul the Cobra slut off to the chopper.  Lift-Ticket doesn't have all day!"  

            Following the voice, Usagi made her way into a hangar where he found Rei tied up in a straightjacket, a pilot, a man with the biggest muscles she had ever seen, and another man dressed in black with a sword on his back. 

            "Come on Slaughter; let's get this girl up to the helipad before the Cobra chicks outside call for reinforcements!"

            "Sergeant Slaughter to you, Lift-Ticket.

She had to announce herself; it was the only way to get their attention.  Otherwise, they'd keep going and never look back.

            "Stop right there!"  Sure enough, it worked.  All three of the men looked at her, just like he planned.  The muscle-bound man was the first to speak. 

            "Y'know, I always knew Cobra was a bunch of pansies, but I never thought I'd see the day where they started wearing miniskirts!  What makes you think you can mess with G.I Joe?  Especially my pals Snake-Eyes and Lift-Ticket?"

            "I'm not a member of Cobra, I'm Sailor Moon!  Guardian of justice!  And you have no right to take her off to wherever you're taking her!"

            Slaughter looked at Lift-Ticket, then at Snake-Eyes, and the three of them together started laughing for a short time.  Then they decided to get serious.

            "How about the three of us show the so-called 'Guardian of Justice' what happens when you mess with the U.S."  Nodding in agreement, Snake-Eyes rushed forward to attack Sailor Moon when out of nowhere, a red rose struck his blade, knocking it out of his hands and pinning it to the ground.

            "Where did that come from?" asked Lift-Ticket.  Looking around, they found a man on the rafters with a cape and a tuxedo.  A man Usagi instantly recognized.

            "Tuxedo Kamen!"

            Lift-Ticket wasn't impressed.  "Who's this clown?"

            The man stared at Lift-Ticket, and then jumped from the rafters down the floor, knocking Lift-Ticket out with a flying kick!

            "Clown?  You're the ones who have no idea who you're fighting or why?  Blind allegiance to a government will only lead to this world's destruction.  Release Sailor Mars now!"

            "You'd like that wouldn't you?" responded Sergeant Slaughter.  "Hey, Snake-Eyes, deal with the Cobra in the tux while I haul the prisoner and Lift-Ticket to the deck."

            Nodding, Snake-Eyes picked up his sword and gave chase to Kamen, who ran into the adjacent hangar.  Usagi quickly realized that he was attempting to draw off the ninja, leaving her alone to fight Sergeant Slaughter.

            Slaughter stared at Usagi before he charged forward.  "When I'm through scum bucket, they're gonna scrape your brains off the wall with a squeegee."

            Moving into the adjacent hangar, Tuxedo Kamen saw Snake-Eyes in close pursuit.  Eventually, he turned and drew his cane to face Snake-Eyes sword.  Locked in combat, Kamen had to give Usagi more time to save Rei.

            Snake-Eyes said nothing, but jumped into the air, and attacked with a flurry of shurikens.  Questioning why an elite military team had a ninja on their team for a split second, Kamen countered with his own roses, each one hitting a respective shuriken.  Then, jumping down, Snake-Eyes clashed his sword with Kamen's cane.

            "What is the point of your fighting?" asked Kamen.  "You have no idea what our cause is, and what we're fighting for.  We're not part of Cobra!"

            Ignoring his words, Snake-Eyes continued his assault, remaining silent the entire time.  Kamen couldn't understand how even a ninja would refuse to say even a single word.

            "The enemy is continuing their assault in the forests!  Keep going!" shouted Duke.  Unfortunately for him and G.I. Joe, the same fog that had appeared in the base now covered the forest.  This made moving vehicles in the forest next to impossible.  So Duke was forced to stay in his tank while the other soldiers moved into the forest.

            "Law, Roadblock, see anything?"

            "Can't see anything, but I'm pretty sure Order can pick up their scent."

            "Go in.  And be careful!"

            "Minako, can you stand?"

            "Don't use our real names, Mercury!  They might hear us!"

            "Well, Venus, can you stand?"

            "I think so.  The fog will give us more cover here than in the open base." 

            "Then let's resume the attack," continued Haruka.

            "O.K." seconded Michiru.

            Less than three minutes had passed before energy waves continued their barrage against the Joe and JSDF tanks and vehicles.  Duke didn't want to risk shelling his own men, but after he saw a JSDF tank and a Joe Battle Wagon destroyed by the enemy's bizarre energy waves, he was left with no choice.

            "Commence artillery shelling!"  After a good amount of shelling, Duke drove his into the forest.  He was going to stop the enemy cold, or else!

            Watching the battle from a distance, Cobra Commander was starting to get impatient.  With a dense fog covering parts of the forests that the Joes and senshi had moved into, he was forced to look with night vision and thermal goggles along with the other lookouts.

            "Commander," asked Major Bludd, "when do we start blasting Joes?"

            "In due time, Bludd, in due time.  G.I. Joe is shelling the forests.  There hasn't been enough of a reduction in their fighting strength to make our move."

            "Yes, Commander," interrupted Destro, "but what if the battle ends without their fighting strength being depleted significantly?"

            "We still move in, Destro.  I'm not counting on the senshi to destroy G.I. Joe; rather I'm counting on them as a distraction."  Turning to his forces, Cobra Commander began to shout orders.  "In 5 minutes, prepare to attack!"

            Usagi attempted to raise her wand for an attack, but before she could, she got hit with a punch from Sergeant Slaughter that felt like a sledgehammer blow.  She barely managed to stay conscious as Slaughter grabbed Usagi and started hitting her with all of his might.

            "This is for all those Japanese families you hurt!" shouted Slaughter as he slammed Usagi into the floor.  She screamed in pain as she was unable to get back up.

            "This is for Lift-Ticket, bitch!" screamed Slaughter again as he smashed his fists into her stomach.  Usagi coughed up blood as Slaughter attacked again.

            "And this is for the U.S. of A!"  Gathering all his strength, Sergeant Slaughter smashed his fists into Usagi's stomach.  He was going to take all of his frustrations with Cobra out on her right here, right now!  

            Usagi winced as Sergeant Slaughter grabbed her by the neck and picked her up.  She was bleeding and in a world of pain.  She knew she had let Rei down.

            "Guardian of justice?  You make me sick!" shouted Slaughter as he threw Usagi into a corner.  Grabbing Rei and Lift-Ticket, Slaughter jumped on the stairs and started to walk towards the roof, where the helicopter was waiting.

            Usagi was beaten badly, clutching the wand that Slaughter had knocked out of her hand.  She had to get up.  If they got away with Rei, she knew that they'd never find her.  G.I. Joe and the entire world would know who the senshi were.  The entire future would come crumbling down in a pile of smoldering ashes mixed with her blood.  And everyone else would be right about her.  

            With all of her might, Usagi got up, grabbed her wand, and started to climb the stairs.  She wasn't beaten yet.  


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10-

            The bright lights blinded Jupiter as soon as she awoke.  She was on some sort of flat table in the middle of a white room.  In front of her was the man known as Dr. Mindbender.  Trying to move, she discovered her whole body was restrained.

            "What are you going to do to me?"

            Mindbender laughed when he heard this.  "I am going to find the key to your powers over electricity, and use them for the good of Cobra."

            Dr. Mindbender moved to a nearby console as he pressed some buttons and moved a lever.  From a nearby console, a helmet attached to a metal pulley and some cables appeared, lowering itself over Jupiter head.  The table she was on raised to a vertical position, to make the helmet slip on easier.

            "What's this toy?" 

            "The Brain Wave Scanner is hardly a toy.  With this, I'll be able to extract information from your mind, and find out everything about you, including the secret to your powers, and display them on this monitor screen for easy viewing.  The process is _very_ painful, unfortunately, however to this date no one has ever died from the scanner.  The process will also take quite a bit of time.  So I'll leave you alone."

            Mindbender finished pressing some buttons on the console as he set the machine up.  It would take about half an hour to finish reading her mind.  More than enough time to go get lunch.

            Dr. Mindbender paid no mention to Jupiter's screams as he left the lab, instead thinking about the bizarre abilities that the girl had.  She had defeated Serpentor, his greatest creation, even if it was only a stripped down grunt version of him.  That power was great, and to harness it would create something far greater.

            A plan was forming, but he would not worry about that now.  He was hungry.

            "Commander, the time limit has passed, and there is no sign of the battle ending!"

            "I realize that Destro.  Very well, all forces commence attack!"

            The convoy of tanks, artillery, and Rattler fighter craft descended toward the battlefield, a flood of weaponry and troops.  It was quickly noticed by the Joe troops.

            "Great!" shouted Roadblock.  "Cobra's shown up to help out their bitch friends!"

            "We should worry about the senshi," hastily responded Law.  "Duke and the others can take care of a few Cobra Vipers."  

            "Guess so."

            Almost on cue, Duke shouted orders to the vehicles outside the forest.

            "Let the infiltration troops in the forest deal with the senshi!  The rest of you, make sure Cobra cannot assist the enemy!"

            From inside the forest, Sailor Pluto saw the Cobra forces descending, worried that things were about to go from bad to worse.

            "Great, now Cobra's here!"

            "Now the Joes won't have any reason NOT to think we're part of Cobra!" angrily replied Uranus.

            "Maybe not," said Mercury.  "If we attack Cobra while the Joes are watching, we can clear our names and get rid of the real bad guys at the same time!"

            The other senshi smiled at Mercury's plan.  It was payback time!  

            Usagi stood up, but it wasn't easy.  She could feel the pain from bruises all over her entire body.  Slaughter had done a number on her, and she feared that ribs were broken.  The pain emanating from them only heightened her fears.  That didn't matter though.  She saw the ladder in front of her and knew that Sergeant Slaughter was on the top, attempting to make his escape.  Grabbing the handles, she started climbing, able to hear voices from the top.

            "Come on Wild Bill!  We need this chopper airborne, ASAP!"

            "This is a two man chopper.  I need Lift-Ticket to pilot it!"

            "Then wake him!  I don't think that girl downstairs is done."

            "You're damn right I'm not done!" shouted Sailor Moon as she climbed the last step of the ladder.  Unfortunately, she tripped and fell on her face while looking at Slaughter.

            "HAHAHAHAHA!  Sarge, this is the girl that was giving you a problem?"

            "What was I thinking, Wild Bill?"  With a smug look, Slaughter turned to face his opponent, flexing his muscles to add to the air of power around him.

            "I AM going to beat you until your snake grandmother can feel the blows!"

            Usagi stood in front of Slaughter, unphased.  She raised her wand in front of her face, concentrating on her target.

            "Do you think your stupid voodoo is gonna hurt me?" asked Slaughter mockingly.

            Usagi looked forward, raising her wand into the air.  She didn't acknowledge Slaughter's taunts; rather, she focused on her attack.  It was time to let her Spiral Heart Attack do the talking!

            Slaughter wasn't an idiot though.  When he noticed the energy gathering around Moon's wand, he rushed forward in an attempt to stop her.  However, instead of knocking her over, he was knocked back by the storm of energy.

            "Sergeant!" shouted Wild Bill, raising his pistol into the air.  "What the hell's going on?"

            "Shoot her you idiot!"  Obliging, Wild Bill fired several shots, all of which disintegrated at the energy form which Sailor Moon was charging.

            "SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!"

            The energy from the wand manifested itself into a heart shaped wave, which descended upon the helicopter, Slaughter, and Wild Bill.  Before they knew what happened, the helicopter exploded, leaving the two on the floor, bruised and beaten.  Usagi sighed, and turned her attention to the straight jacketed Rei.

            "Rei!  Are you alright?"

            "Wh...Who?  Usagi?"

            "Yeah.  We need to get out of her now.  Place is a war zone.  Can you stand?"

            "I'm not hurt.  Except for my pride." 

            Smiling, the two descended the stairway to the ground.  It was time to go.

            Major Bludd was no stranger to battle.  As a mercenary for hire, he had fought in wars across the entire world.  Blood and money were the only things he really cared about in the world.  However, lately, he hadn't been seeing that much action, being regulated to menial activities.  So it was natural for him to try and maximize the carnage in battle.

            "I'm going after those little bitches!  Cover me!"

            No one in the Cobra front lines saw it coming.  All they saw was Bludd taking a jetpack and flying towards the senshi.

            Cobra Commander, who was leading the fight with the Joe ground forces from the safety of a HISS tank, noticed Bludd taking off.  Wasting no time, he radioed Bludd.

            "What are you doing?!"  
            "I'm sick of waiting around for you to overrun the Joe lines!  I'm taking those girls right now!"

            Cobra Commander simply stared dumfounded.  Then he redirected his attention to the Joe forces, which didn't go unnoticed by Destro.

            "Commander, shouldn't we send him help?"

            "Why?"

            "Because he's about to fight our targets alone!"

            "He defied a direct order.  The man needs to know he's part of a structure."

            Destro just shook his head, and then directed his forces to the area where Bludd was flying.

            Bludd's crude calculations proved correct.  He managed to fly right over the main battle lines and right into the forest where the senshi were hiding.  Using a pair of thermal goggles, he saw right through Mercury's fog and landed right on the senshi.

            "Surprise, Sailor Skanks!" shouted Bludd as he landed, kicking Mercury right in the chest.  The sudden shock knocked her out and cleared the fog that she projected, leaving the senshi wide open to an attack from all sides!

            Sailor Pluto looked around then noticed Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars running out of the base attempting to sneak away from the battle.  She smiled.

            "The battle is won!" she shouted.  "Let us leave at once!"

            The senshi all ran for the edge of the forest, but Venus stayed to try and get Mercury.

            "You fool!" shouted Pluto.  "We have lost our advantage!"

            Venus stood unwavering.  "This is a rescue mission!" she responded.  "There's no point to it if we let another team member get captured!"  

            Turning to Bludd, she attempted to fire her chain attack, but before she could, she noticed that she was surrounded by a legion of Vipers that were setting up a perimeter.

            "Two for the price of one!" laughed Bludd.  "See Commander?  This is what a good battle looks like."

            The Commander sighed.  He had been proven wrong, but at least this time, it was in his favor.  "All forces fall back!  We have our prize!"

            The Cobra forces went into full retreat as Roadblock watched.  "They just ran…"

            "It was Cobra Commander," commented Law.  "What did you expect?"

            From his tank, however, Duke could only worry.  Why did the senshi fire on Cobra?  It didn't make sense.  Just who was on who's side?

The call from the base only made things worse.

            "Duke, come in!  This is General Hawk."

            "I read you, what's the situation?"

            "Sergeant Slaughter, Wild Bill, and Lift Ticket are all by the helipad next to a destroyed chopper!  What's more, the prisoner Sailor Mars has escaped!"

            "WHAT?!  Who found them?"

            "Snake-Eyes.  And supposedly, _he _was fighting some nut job in a tuxedo that managed to escape."

"What now?

"It looks bad.  Tell all the Joes to head back to base.  We're going to set up an emergency conference with the Japanese command before making our next move."

             Duke sighed as he ordered the retreat.  Things weren't looking up.

            "Ami and Minako were WHAT?!"

            "Captured," calmly replied Setsuna.  Rei just shook her head.

            "You go on a rescue mission to save me, and now you've lost two other senshi?  That is insane."

            Haruka and Michiru stood up furious.  "Watch your mouth, brat!  The Guardian of time isn't to be addressed in that manner!"

            "Well, maybe if she saw into the future, she could see sacrificing two members of our team on my behalf was pretty damn stupid!"

            "ENOUGH!" shouted Setsuna.  "Rei, look at it this way.  Ami, Makoto, and Minako are all in the hands of Cobra and Cobra Commander.  All probably in the same location."

            "How is this good?  We don't know where they are!"

            She smirked at Rei.  "We will soon.  Thanks to Chibi-Usa.  Then Haruka and Michiru will be able to save them from Cobra and return them here, allowing time to flow normally."

           Usagi stood up quickly.  "I should go."  But Haruka simply shook her head.

           "Giving Cobra Commander the future queen of Earth and the Ghinzhou crystal isn't exactly an intelligent decision.  In the end, we're expendable.  You're not.  You must trust our judgment."

           Usagi could only nod.  It seemed like Haruka knew what she was talking about.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

            "Yes sir.  I understand.  No, the research has actually proven extremely useful.  I even have a surprise ready when you return.  Egypt?  By tomorrow?  No, that's fine.  I will bring my surprise with me.  Yes, you will like it.  I'm sure of that."

            Turning off the phone, Dr. Mindbender turned to his prisoner Sailor Jupiter, who was still on the table, unable to move.  

            "I assume that the Brain Wave Scanner has not hampered your ability to walk, has it?"  
            "Let me go right now you bastard!"

            Mindbender laughed.  "I would let you go, but in all honesty, I don't see any reason to.  Besides, we're going on a little trip."

            Jupiter looked puzzled.  "Trip?"

            "Tell me, Ms. Jupiter.  Have you ever been to Africa?"

            The noise coming from the planes was loud.  So loud that anyone trying to have a conversation had to speak up very loudly to be heard.

            "So, tell me, Dr. Mindbender, what's being boarded?"

            "A surprise Baroness. You, Tomax, and Xamot are to take command of Cobra Island's day to day management until we return.  It should not be long."  
            "But why our Sahara base?  Why not just bring the prisoners here?  
            "I don't know, but I'm sure there's a good reason."

            "And Destro?"

            "With the Commander."

            The Baroness watched as Dr. Mindbender boarded the plane.  It didn't really matter to her that he was leaving so much as Destro wasn't going to return for even longer.  

            "That is fate, I guess."

            The mood that hung over the briefing room was one of confusion and somber.  It had been revealed that in their fight with Sailor Moon, Sergeant Slaughter, Lift-Ticket, and Wild Bill all had suffered multiple broken bones and even in Slaughter's class, massive arm gashes.  The three were quickly rushed back to the Pit for medical attention, but it was unsure when they would recover.

            Duke, Flint, and General Hawk could see the confusion in their troops.  Deciding that the best thing to do would be to address their concerns, General Hawk approached the podium.

            "Everyone settle down.  We have several orders of business today.  Right now I'd like to open up the floor to questions."

            Gung-Ho quickly stood up.  "What's going on with Slaughter, Lift-Ticket, and Wild Bill?"

            "The three of them have been transported back to the Pit for medical attention.  Doc has informed us that they should be able to return to active duty in a few weeks."

            Next up was Roadblock, who, along with Law, was in the thick of the forest with the senshi.  "Why were the senshi shooting at the snakes?  I mean, I thought they were on the same side."

            "I wish I had an answer for that.  What I do know is that the senshi are still classified as enemy combatants and will remain so until I say otherwise."

            Sitting down, the general allowed Flint to take the podium.  "Luckily for us, we have a lead.  A patrol jet picked up Cobra transports leaving here heading on a path towards Africa.  Three hours later, our spy satellites a group of transports flew from Cobra Island towards that same location.  We've managed to trace their collective location somewhere in the Sahara.  We move out the day after tomorrow at 10:30.  Understood?"

            The collective agreement convinced Flint that the briefing had fulfilled his purpose.  Letting General Hawk continue with the details, he turned to Duke.

            "What do you think?"

            "I wish I knew.  There's still a part of me that thinks the senshi are much worse than Cobra."

            "And the other part?"

            "The other part is under too much stress to think clearly."

            The new day came and Usagi's attempts to put the events of the previous day's events proved fruitless.  Mamuro shared her concerns over the events on the phone the night before.  So when daybreak came, and Setsuna visited her house, she felt anxious.

            "Well?  What's going on?  Do you know where Ami and Minako are?"

            Setsuna smiled as she walked inside.  "Small Lady?"

            "Yes?" replied Chibi-Usa.

            "Is Luna-P back yet?"

            "She came back this morning."   Holding the ball that bore a strange resemblance to a cat, Chibi-Usa handed it to Setsuna, who carefully examined it.

            "Let's go to the living room.  Haruka and Michiru will be along shortly.  You might want Rei to see this too."

            About half-an-hour later, everyone was gathered at the living room of Usagi's house.  Setsuna stood in front of them, telling her plan.

            "Using Luna-P as a disguise, I managed to have her infiltrate the Joe base and had her record the briefing that they had.  She's going to tell us exactly where our missing friends are."

            Chibi-Usa stood up proudly.  "It was my idea!  Luna-P, turn into a TV and show them what you saw!"

            The ball made a noise similar to a cat meowing, then transformed into a TV.  A few seconds later, it began playing footage.

            "We are the Mooninites from the far corner of the moon."

            "You said it right!"

            Everyone stared as Chibi-Usa went up to the screen.  "Oops.  Wrong channel.  I meant what you saw at the base yesterday, Luna-P."   

A few seconds of flickering later, the screen showed a military officer in front of a map of Africa.

"We managed to trace the destinations of both Cobra cargo runs here.  We're assuming a Cobra base is nearby…"

With that, the monitor flickered off and transformed back into Luna-P, which jumped into Chibi-Usa's hands.

"Now that you all know where we're going", announced Michiru, "it's time for us to leave."

"What about you, Setsuna?" asked Rei.

"Usagi has suggested something."

"Suggested what?"

Usagi stood up and attempted to look serious.  "We need to try to convince G.I. Joe of our intentions."

Rei just shook her head.  "Are you crazy?!  The Joes?  The people that tried to kill us?"

"I know they're not evil.  They just don't understand our position.  If they can be convinced of our good intentions, then I just know it'll be worth it."

"Oh sure," mocked Rei.  "Excuse me Mr. U.S. General, my friends and I are schoolgirls that secretly fight evil demons from a parallel universe to save the future.  We're not the bad guys!"

Setsuna stood up and approached Rei.  "What did they do to you?"

Rei stared for a few seconds before answering.  "I wasn't beaten, if that's what you mean.  They put me in a straightjacket, and one of their members slapped me a few times, but another one stopped them.  I was fed and everything, but on the way out, I was hit with a tranquilizer."

Setsuna walked out.  "Usagi, I will need you to help me make my case to the Joe officers.  We leave tonight."

Sailor Jupiter had just awakened from a flight that consisted mostly of her beaten knocked out by Vipers whenever she came to.  She was being escorted in chains to a room in the middle of a laboratory.  Looking around, she saw two other people in chains.  People she recognized as her fellow senshi.

"Sailor Mercury!   Sailor Venus!  What happened?"

Venus raised her head to look at Jupiter, then simply shook it.  "I don't want to talk about it."

"That bad, eh?"

"Shut up!" shouted a Crimson Guardsmen behind the senshi.  He pointed his gun at them so they'd know he was serious.

All the soldiers stood at salute as Cobra Commander entered the room with his entourage.  On the other side of the room was Dr. Mindbender, grinning from ear to ear.

"Cobra Commander, behold, the future of our organization!"

"How many times have you said that, Mindbender?  What insane plan of the week do you have this time?"

"Sir, behold the newest evolution in my battle android technology."  Turning to large, box, it opened, revealing a B.A.T. colored bright green with a small antenna on its head.

"The result of my experimentations on Sailor Jupiter, and soon, the rest of the Sailors.  The B.A.S.S.!  Battle Android Sailor Senshi!"


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

            Kyoto base was a flurry of activity.  Between the transports jets being loaded for takeoff, to the extra rounds of security put up by the JSDF, it was all too obvious something was happening.  From the window of his temporary office, General Hawk could see it all.

            "Sir, are you worried?"

            "No, Flint.  Just a bit annoyed.  This isn't the first time Cobra has managed to hide their evidence from us."

            "Yeah, but each time, we managed to find out their true intentions later.  I don't think it's anything to really worry about."

            "I suppose so.  But I'm your commanding officer.  Getting worried is my job."

            Flint laughed at the joke and prepared to leave, when he heard the alarm.  A voice began in Japanese, but then switched to English.

            "Intruders in the front courtyard.  This is not a drill.  Intruders in the front courtyard."

            "What in the hell?" asked Hawk.

            "I'll go check it out," responded Flint as he left the office and went outside.

            "Well Sailor Moon, I came with you because I saw that a peace plan could work if you proposed it with my help.  The only problem with that, however, is that I was under one assumption."

            "Which was, Sailor Pluto?"

            "That you had a plan."

            From where Sailor Pluto was standing, it didn't look like she had a plan.  They were surrounded by soldiers all pointing their guns at the two senshi, each one looking more than ready to pull the triggers at any given time.  From the crowd, two men emerged, holding pistols.  They looked like high-ranking officers.  Behind them, another in complete black gear emerged as well.

            "YOU!"  shouted the first man.   "You've got guts coming back here, missy!  Especially after what you did!"

            "Duke, calm down.  We don't know what they want."

            "Fine, Flint."  Composing himself, Duke stood in front of Sailor Moon, pointing a pistol at her.  "You put three good men from Joe out of action.  And nearly killed Sergeant Slaughter!  Why are you here?"

            Usagi looked down the gun barrel, then at the man pointing the gun.  She composed herself, and then spoke.  "Peace."

            "Peace?!" asked Duke half-mockingly.  "PEACE?!  You are wanted criminals!"

            "But Mr. Duke, you have to believe me!  We're not part of Cobra!"

            Duke simply stood unwavering.  "Why should I believe anything you say?  You broke into a military base."

            "To save my friend."

            "You wounded three of my men!  Nearly killed Sergeant Slaughter!"

            "Sergeant Slaughter attacked me!  He tried to kill me first!"

            Duke still moved unwavering.  He had no way of believing what she was saying was the truth or not.  Did Cobras ever tell the truth?

            "You're lying!  Take her away!"

            Duke pointed his gun at Usagi, close enough that she could see down the barrel.  It wasn't a pretty sight.  She could practically smell the spark of gunpowder.  

            But before Duke could do anything, a red rose appeared and struck the pistol from his hand.  The soldiers around him looked around only to see a figure in black running.  Duke would have given the order to fire, had Snake-Eyes not put his hand in front of Duke, restraining him.

            Usagi smiled.  She knew her boyfriend wouldn't let her do something like this alone.  Even more surprising was seeing something attached to the rose.

            A disc.

            Duke looked at Sailor Moon, infuriated.  "What is the meaning of this?"

            "Evidence.  It's all on the disc next to the rose."  

            Flint stared dumbfounded while Duke examined the disc.  "How can I trust you?"

            His question was answered by a nod from Snake-Eyes.  He seemed willing to trust them.  Why exactly, he didn't know.

            "Very well, I'll look at your evidence.  But judging by the way General Morrin's been acting, I'm not sure if he'll be willing to look at it."

            About twenty minutes later, Duke was inside, playing the DVD on a console in front of the entire G.I. Joe team and the Japanese soldiers who were with them.  It showed various footage from different scenes, with the senshi firing on Cobra troops during the Cobra invasion of Tokyo, the battle outside Kyoto base, and Sergeant Slaughter attacking Sailor Moon first.

            After the footage was complete, Sailor Moon stared at Duke.  "Do you believe us now?"

            Duke was about to answer, when he heard shouting from behind him.  Turning to see where the commotion was coming from, he saw General Morrin enter with a crew of Japanese MP's.

            "I'll ask you all not to allow prisoners out of their prisons, General Hawk!  What are they doing here?"

            Hawk, who had remained silent observing the video, addressed his Japanese counterpart.  "The senshi have evidence that…"

            "The senshi?!  You accepted evidence from THE SENSHI?!"

            "They came unarmed, with the intention of…"

            "They are criminals!"

            As General Hawk and General Morrin continued to argue, no one seemed to notice Sailor Pluto stepping forward, approaching Morrin.  Three guards pointed their guns at her, but she managed to keep moving forward, without them firing a shot.  It was as if she had them hypnotized.

            "General Yoshiro Morrin, I know that you are seeking to undermine us for your own personal gain.  That is why you were so quick to brand Sailor Moon a criminal.  That is why you were so quick to order our arrest.  And I know why."

            Morrin stared at Sailor Pluto in horror as everyone else looked on.  His expression did nothing to curb her speech.

            "You hated us for saving people where the military could not.  You looked at the senshi as vigilantes, the bane of your career.  While we didn't mean to serve as these things, you still blamed us for these things, and the affect it was going to have on your political career."

            Sailor Moon could only stare in awe.  How did she know all of this?

            "Because of this, you plotted to have the Sailor Senshi eliminated in any way possible.  When G.I. Joe showed up to fight Cobra in Japan, you knew you had found an excuse."

            General Hawk could only stare at Morrin.  "Is this true?"

            Morrin stood defiant.  "She is lying!  Take her away!"

            A few more MP's approached Pluto, but she stepped forward regardless, staring deep into Morrin's eyes.  "Why are you in such a hurry to silence us?  Do you fear the Senshi, General?"

            Finally, Morrin broke down, sobbing.   "Yes!  It's all true!  Those stupid bitches made Japan look weak!  They made ME look weak!  I couldn't take it.  I had to hide the evidence from the public and dispose of them!"

            Before anyone could make a move, Morrin ran out of the hall, screaming.  The remaining soldiers could only look at Sailor Pluto in awe.

            Duke shrugged.  "I guess…I guess I owe you an apology…"

            About three hours later, the rest of the Japanese officers on board were notified of Morrin's confession.  Searching through his files only validated everything that Sailor Pluto was telling the truth.  

            On that note, the senshi were cleared of the charges leveled against them, with Duke and a Japanese colonel grudgingly admitting they had been too hasty.

            "Don't worry about it!" replied Sailor Moon.  "You were just doing your job."

            "Yeah, but the way I acted was completely…"

            "There are many forces in the universe that would seek to influence your actions," began Pluto.  "I cannot say what or which has done so, but I do know that you will now be able to resist it."

            Duke didn't respond, but went back inside his office.  Realizing her work was now complete; Sailor Pluto grabbed Sailor Moon and headed out the door.

            "Setsuna, how did you know what was going on?"

            "I had studied Morrin and knew of his intentions.  Unfortunately, I couldn't approach them and just say what I knew.  No one would believe me."

            "But they would believe the evidence if we got them to see it."

            "Exactly.  I still fear, however, what will happen with Morrin.  A part of me feels he is far from finished with us."

**************************************************************************************************************************

            "I wonder why I put my neck out for you like that sometimes.   I really do."

            "Because you love me?"

            "Well of course I love you.  I mean besides that."

            "Because you have a duty to protect the future?"

            "That too."

            "Still, there's one question that bothered me."

            "What's that, Usagi?"

            "Mamo-chan, how did you get that video?"

            "Asking witnesses for 6 hours, filming the other night because of worry over what might have happened to you, and spending a day editing a video together at Ms. Setsuna's request."

            "What do I do now?"

            "Rest.  Cobra still has the other girls, and odds are you'll have to fight them sooner or later."

            "Okay.   I'll see you later."

            "Okay."

            Hanging up the phone, Usagi thought about her boyfriend's words.  One major hurdle had been cleared, but now she had to hope Haruka and Michiru could save her friends from the clutches of Cobra Commander.  

            It was clear to her that the conflict was far from over.  What turn it took from here, she couldn't know.


End file.
